There are at least 1.35 million attorneys in the country. These are lawyers in different legal fields representing clients with varying needs.

From the statistics, it’s easy to see that the competition for legal work is stiff. The case is even worse if you’re just starting out. But fear not, with an eye-grabbing attorney resume, you can easily land your first job.

When writing your resume, make sure to separate yourself from the pack with these seven expert tips.

1. Be Specific

The right legal resume shouldn’t simply have a list of your skills and responsibilities. Rather, you should be specific about what you’re capable of and what you’ve done before. This requires avoiding general terms in your descriptions and being more practical.

2. Use Fewer Words

You don’t have to tell a story in your resume to impress a client. Use proper formatting and employ as few words as possible. Remember, your potential clients may not have all the time to go over your stories.

Use bullets, short paragraphs, and different fonts to make it easy for the client to see key points.

3. Include Only Relevant Information

For each of your potential clients, you should aim at tailoring the resume to their specific needs. That means that each time you start writing a resume to a specific client, you should go over the aspects of your career which will add value to them.

Having a long list of irrelevant skills and experience won’t land you a job with most clients. In any case, most clients need only one well-honed skill that’s most useful to them.

4. Avoid Using Passive Voice

Using an active voice makes your resume attractive and lively. The use of passive voice makes your resume appear like you’re talking about the attributes of a third party. The active voice, on the other hand, is more convincing.

5. Don’t Include References

The inclusion of references appears to be an important part of the modern resume. However, if you have convinced the potential client about your confidence and skill set, they don’t need to find another party to vouch for you. If the need arises, they’ll call you and ask for the references.

6. Use Different Formats for Different Jobs

Having one resume format that you slightly tweak for different applications is never a good idea. For instance, a law firm job position and corporate legal position don’t need the same type of resume format. You can get different resume format templates from Adobe Sparks to help you create the right resume for each position you apply to.

7. Use a Single Page

Potential clients rarely go through long resumes just to find what’s important to them. Limiting your resume to a single page will thus increase your chances of getting hired.

Write an Eye-Catching Attorney Resume

The right attorney resume will increase your chances of landing a good client and growing your career. You only need to find out what each of your potential clients wants and then tailor the resume to their needs. That way, you’ll always be among the shortlisted lawyers from a long list of candidates.